I Used to Be Racist

by J.L. Raynor

In his first book, J. L. Raynor talks about his early years growing up in New York City, and his love for the World Trade Center as a child. After September 11th and the weeks that followed, he began watching news reports that identified those responsible for destroying his favorite buildings. He developed a substantial amount of hatred towards not only Muslims, but anyone who resembled Middle Eastern culture.Later in life, he moved to Ohio for college, where he was introduced to the type of racism that he only ever saw in the movies. Despite his experiences, till this day he is grateful of these moments because it forced him to become an adult faster than others. When asked where he's from, he says "I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY but I grew up in Ohio."

177 pages, Paperback

Published August 28, 2021

Reviews

[Miesha Wilson Headen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Racism affects us all, but we tend to only focus on how it affects people who look just like us.”

Jason Raynor's I Used to Be Racist is an important addition to current literature about overcoming prejudice. Raynor, a young black man, was a ten year old in Brooklyn when he heard the planes fly overhead during the 9/11 attacks,destroying the Twin Towers where his mother worked. He developed a hatred toward and dehumanization of Muslim people. He reforms his racism after attending Bowling Green State University in semi-rural Ohio and bearing the brunt of what he calls “in your face racism” from the police, classmates, and townies. His memoir is a meditation on and practical guide for calling out your own personal racism. People who enjoyed Ibraim Kendi’s How to Be an Anti-Racist and Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I No Longer Talk to White People about Race will appreciate Jason’s thought provoking presentation.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an open and refreshingly honest take on racism. The author has a very unique perspective on the issue, having both experienced racism from the receiving and delivering end. His accounts of how racism was able to take ahold of him were wonderfully honest and vulnerable, and his story on how he was able to free himself from racism was both inspiring and uplifting. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend it!

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forward-thinking and insightful, this short memoir even has a touch of humor in some of its anecdotes. This author’s sharp perspective deserves to be widely read.